


Betting Happiness

by Emmeebee



Category: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Genre: Drabble, F/M, Gambling references, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-09
Updated: 2015-03-09
Packaged: 2018-03-17 02:49:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3512396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emmeebee/pseuds/Emmeebee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The night before his wedding, Joshua finds himself unable to sleep due to excitement and worry; he instead wanders through the camp reflecting on Natasha and their latest wager. One-shot drabble.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Betting Happiness

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on ff.net on 23 November 2014.  
> Thanks, as always, to my beta-brother.

His well-worn shoes tread through the dewy grass, leaving half-formed feet imprints in its midst as temporary mementos of his unrest. The torch he held aloft in his hand bathed the area around him in a light glow, its flickering flames breaking through the dark night. The dawn seemed to loom ahead of him in all of its imposing glory; its promises of joy and bliss both allured and floored him. Cynicism and carefree adaptability had long since been impressed upon him, so the idea of making such a binding commitment was foreign to him. He couldn't just float in and out of it as the tide of emotions and preferences took him; as Natasha had said, they were gambling with her happiness here, so he couldn't afford to fail. He couldn't do that to her, couldn't smash her persevering idealism into pieces to use as gambling chips. However good his reasons for leaving Jehanna had been, however much it had given him the ability to be able to view situations realistically and so rule honestly and wisely, he couldn't shake the knowledge of how much his departure had hurt and isolated his mother; he wasn't willing to hurt Natasha like that, too. 

He was well aware that that would take work, both against his own drifting inclinations and against her insecurities. He could do hard work; he'd just never committed to it before, and now he was suddenly about to commit to ruling a kingdom he hadn't seen for years and being a husband to a woman whom he could break so easily. But, despite his fears of the momentousness of his upcoming actions, the idea of marrying the serious cleric thrilled him. She was beautiful and caring and humble, and something about her made him feel as if any life other than the one he was choosing would never be more than a pale imitation of what could have been. Their second bet had been one way, but the outcome had been the complete opposite; she wasn't the only one who had fallen while fighting together on that battlefield. _So, really,_ he thought, _we're betting on my happiness too._ As he spun on his heel and started the long walk back to his tent, determined to get some sleep before his wedding day dawned, he reaffirmed his promise to her in his head; he would make this work and win their wager.

**Author's Note:**

> The first time I played through Sacred Stones, I fell a little (okay, a lot) in love with this pairing. I wanted to write about them on and off since returning to fanfiction in 2013, but never had the plot or motivation to actually do it.
> 
> This is a response to another set of writing prompts, for which I chose 'insomnia'.


End file.
